Course Description

Biology 214 is a one-semester introduction to the structure and function of living organisms. The central goal of this course is to understand the way in which cells, tissues, organs, and body plans are specialized to increase the survival and reproductive success of living species. All living organisms share many of the same basic needs, and the importance of adequately meeting those needs is a theme that will recur again and again throughout our course. For instance, all multicellular organisms must acquire water, oxygen and chemical nutrients from their environment, they must synthesize biological macromolecules such as proteins or DNA, and - if the species is to persist - they must reproduce by generating offspring that carry their parental DNA into future generations.

As evidenced by the name of the course, we will need to look at living organisms both in terms of their anatomy (structure) and their physiology (function). Consider human respiration, whose central purpose is the reciprocal diffusion of O₂ and CO₂ between the air we breathe and the bodily fluids that bathe our cells. This exchange is a physiological process, and our survival requires that the process be highly efficient - without a steady supply of O₂, death will occur first to the brain and then to the heart. To insure that this exchange of respiratory gases is efficient, the lung is 'designed' such that the air and blood are separated by two very thin and highly permeable cells so that only minimal diffusion is required for the exchange to occur. In addition, the air passages within our lungs are highly branched and globular in shape, thereby providing a huge surface area (equal to the floor of a racquetball court) across which diffusion can take place. Even if the rate of diffusion is low, this large surface area insures that a large volume of gas gets exchanged with each breath. Thus, the anatomy and physiology of the lung are intimately intertwined with respect to their functional context.

But as you know, some problems can be solved by more than one possible solution, e.g. you can pare the skin off an apple as a single long spiral or as a series of linear strips. In this same way, some of the problems of survival and reproduction have been solved quite differently by differing kinds of life. For instance, virtually all plants are capable of photosynthesis, the process by which light energy is harnessed to generate organic compounds out of inorganic nutrients. But animals do not have the biochemical machinery that would allow them to perform photosynthesis, and thus all animal species must ingest other living organisms or the byproducts of living organisms in order to acquire already synthesized organic chemical building blocks such as amino acids or simple sugars. Such distinctions between plant and animal are one fundamental aspect of life's diversity, and we will examine these two groups in sequence. The first one-third of the course will be devoted primarily to the structure and function of flowering plants ('angiosperms'), and the latter two-thirds of the course will focus on the structure and function of multicellular ('metazoan') animals, with particular emphasis on vertebrate animals such as ourselves.

Within each of these groups, one can still find diverse solutions to the same problem. For instance, lungs are not the only means by which animals exchange O₂ and CO₂ with the outside world. Most aquatic animals use gills, organs whose anatomy differs from that of a lung so as to facilitate the exchange of gases in an aqueous rather than atmospheric environment. These sorts of distinctions underscore the importance of evolution as a theoretical framework in which to understand biological diversity. Each individual species has become adapted through natural selection to optimize its survival in a particular environment. Thus, each species has an anatomy and a physiology that are very precisely 'tuned' to the ways in which it interacts with its environment. The diversity of living organisms on our planet is therefore a reflection of the diverse environments in which life occurs, and also of the many ways in which life can exploit a given environment.

Due to the broad nature of the subject, we will need to examine living organisms at many different levels. For example, we will account for the electrical signals generated by individual nerve cells in terms of the way that 'channel' proteins allow electrically charged ions to move between the inside and the outside of the cell. But this information is not enough to understand animal behavior, and for that we must go another step and consider the way in which nerve cells connect to one another to form 'neural circuits'. It is the organization and electrical activity of these neural circuits that allow animals to sense external stimuli and to respond to those stimuli with adaptive behaviors.

When you consider that a single human brain contains a thousand times more cells than there are people on this planet, you can begin to appreciate just how vast and complex the anatomy and physiology of even one single organ can be.

Prerequisites

To take BIO214, students must have completed BIO211 and BIO212 (or their equivalents) with a grade of "C" or better. Co-registration is not accepted. Anyone who registers for BIO214 without having passed these prerequisites will be automatically dropped by the 12th class day.

The BIO211-214 courses form an integrated sequence, and the lectures/readings given in this class will build upon material covered in BIO 211 (basics concepts in biochemistry and cell biology) and BIO212 (basics concepts in genetics and evolution). Students who are not confident about material they learned in those prerequisite courses are strongly advised to supplement the readings assigned for this course by reviewing the pertinent earlier chapters of the textbook.

Course Organization

Biology 214 will consist of two 50 minutes lectures per week accompanied by required readings (see Schedule below) that should be studied in advance of the lecture. There will also be five scheduled discussion sections per week, and you may attend any or all discussion section(s) that fit your schedule. There will be no discussion sections during the first week of the semester, nor on the days immediately following an exam.

Attendance will not be taken, but it is strongly recommended that you attend both lecture and discussion section on a regular basis. In discussion sections, the TA will review important topics covered in the previous 2 lectures. You will almost certainly get more out of discussion section if you come prepared with questions. There will also be 3 scheduled extra-credit quizzes given in discussion sections.

Anyone desiring more in-depth or one-on-one discussion of course topics is encouraged to take advantage of the scheduled office hours (see pg 1). Students with clearly defined questions about course material or administrative issues may want to ask their questions by Email rather than sitting in line during office hours. If you are unable to come at the scheduled times, do not hesitate to make an appointment for another time. If you simply drop by at random, we may not be able to spend time with you.

Textbook

All lecture sections of BIO214 will use the textbook "Biology" by Campbell & Reece (6th edition), which can be purchased at bookstores on The Drag. Some of you may already own the 5th edition, which is very similar. However, if you decide to use an older edition of this text you do so at your own risk, and will be responsible for learning the all the same material as the remainder of the class.

Return to BIO214 Home Page.